0.4.19.0 arrives today!
Wrapping up this month, we’ve implemented a first look at the new skills system. Earning XP now offers major rewards that can improve your character. You can earn XP for all sorts of skills, such as rifles, lockpicking and trading. At certain key levels, you’ll be offered a choice of perks which will define the strengths of your character.

Furthermore, almost all of the NPC cast have been revitalised, with all new voice over lines and facial animations.

This update also contains heaps of updates, fixes and quality of life improvements. Take a look at what’s new below.

Developer Comment:
It would be advisable to start a fresh game as some mechanics, craftables and items may be bugged or not be available if using out of date game save files.



Our NPC cast are more alive than ever, with all new voiced dialogue and facial animations.

• Added new VO, facial animations and audio barks for Scarlet Guidry
• Added new VO, facial animations and audio barks for Simon Cormier
• Added new VO and facial animations for Lucille LaBoeuf
• Added new VO and facial animations for Nomad
• Added new VO and facial animations for Jeremiah Gass
• Added new VO and facial animations for Daisy Simpson
• Added new VO and facial animations for Neville Roberts
• Added new VO and facial animations for Sasha the treasure hunter.
• Added new VO and facial animations for Thomas the librarian.
• Added new VO and facial animations for Brendan Skillen.
• Added new VO and facial animations for Bruce Reed.
• Added new VO and facial animations for George Paisley.
• Added new VO and facial animations for Kirk, the electrician.
• Added new VO and facial animations for Layton Basty.
• Added new VO for Meiline Young
• Many general adjustments, tweaks and typo fixes for NPC dialogue



The long awaited skill system makes its first appearance, with customisable skill perks and more.

• First phase of Skill System V2.0 has been enabled. View skills and perks from the skills tab in your inventory.

Automatically unlock perks at set grade levels for a skill and build your skills to your preferred play style.

• Added additional skills and perks that will affect vitals, looting and more.
• Trading Skill unlocked, earn XP from trading and enable the following perks. Charismatic, Negotiator, Smoke Blower, Influential, Bartering, Intuition and more.
• New trading skills integrated into the trading window, like "Intuition" Stock regeneration, allowing you to regenerate the trader’s stock and deals at the push of a button with a 30 minute cooldown.
• Added perk cooldown system, a ten minute cool down on a perk will activate when selecting a perk before being able to select a different one in the skill group column

Example:

For a full overview of the available skills and planned skills, please visit our Discord server.

• Removal of legacy skill system causing CPU costs every frame
• Minor optimisation on wash stations
• Optimisation of NPC death logic.
• Removed redundant death logic running on NPCs.
• Improved efficiency of on-fire burning logic on NPCs
• Removal of various old debugging tools
• Small clean up of the old particle system on pickup items.

• Added shortcuts for bandages and health kits that display on the HUD. No need to assign items as it will automatically find the relevant item for the job.
• Added a new fail safe for saved inventory items: if data has changed on an item in the base game it will update the item in the save data with the correct data.
• Added new detail to first person chainsaw animation
• Added two new emotes.
• Added shortcut for decoys that displays on the HUD when available.
• Added Duct Tape as a resource which can stop bleeding. Accessible from the heath item shortcut button.
• The survivor camp now has its own noticeboard and will have wanted (Head Hunter) quests.
• Noticeboard quests now show a skull difficulty level 1 - 5 skulls, the more skulls the harder the quest.
• Added craftable 1000 Litre IBC Tank for water collectors
• Some 1000 Litre IBC Tanks can be picked up if found out in the world, not safe-zones.
• Crossbridge Safe-Zone now has rentable units
• Nadir Farm Safe-Zone now has rentable units

• End of the Easter 2023 event.
• Significantly reduced speed when wading through deeper water. Rebalances Gustava's water section.
• Emote menu is no longer blocked from opening if no emotes have been discovered.
• Some emotes are now automatically unlocked from the start of the game. Others must be found by talking to hunters in the world.
• Hunter Roche now offers a different emote.
• Blueprints that have been read are now listed in the player guide.
• Crafting recipes learned are now listed in the player guide.
• Increased intensity of red legendary flashlight
• Traders will now show an open book icon on blueprints/books that are already known.
• Character's death loot bags no longer block movement or projectiles
• Improved attenuation on NPCs reloading SFX, meaning they are not so consistently loud
• Can no longer enter free-look mode while aiming.
• Improved third person camera position for all protagonists when aiming weapons
• Improved text order in the resources UI element when building.
• RMB zoom is now enabled while using melee weapons third-person
• Improved smoothness of third person character rotation when drawing and shooting bow.
• Various small dialogue tweaks
• Character can now rotate while reloading in third person
• Interactable objects that are permanent installations in the world no longer show the option to 'pick up'
• Respawn locations in the menu on death are now ordered by distance.
• Duplicate respawn locations no longer appearing in the list on death.
• Traders will now buy and sell ingots (Brass, copper, Iron, Steel)
• Only outfits that can be worn by the character will spawn in loot drops.
• Throwables such as molotovs cannot be thrown in safezones
• Small update to Layton Basty's mesh
• Item descriptions updated for some building materials
• Improved character's animation posture when moving up and down slopes while crouched
• Rearranged button display in the main menu to more sensible locations.
• Kirk's mesh updated with a new version.
• Arrows are now only sometimes recoverable. Chance of recovery now increases with skills.
• Updated item description for sleeping bags.
• Pickup items now display if the player needs to talk to someone before taking the item.
• Screen gameplay tooltips now have a 5 minute cooldown before they will show again.
• Updated level up UI display with animated icon and text when new perks are available.
• Trader reputation display now updates in real-time, no need to close and open trade window.
• XP earned capped on item stacks.
• Lowered the ocean to stop character from losing oxygen on the water surface.
• Ammo will no longer auto-switch to fire or explosive arrows.
• Explosive arrows now have a consistent detonation fuse of 0.6 seconds after arrow impact.
• Explosive arrows no longer briefly spawn an extra grenade mesh on impact.
• Various item description updates
• Player built structures no longer receive decals from the world
• Player death bags can no longer affect navigation.
• Improved third person falling and landing animation when holding a bow.
• Added new audio and facial animations to Bruce Reed the trader
• Added new audio and facial animations to George Paisley
• Added a new barks system for traders when buying, selling and attempting to trade goods.
• Small update to Bruce Reed's mesh
• Freelook key now appears in the settings and is rebindable.
• Increased frequency at which traders (currently Bruce Reed) will comment on attempted purchases.
• Small tweaks to various NPC's dialogue.
• Improved item descriptions for meat.
• Buffed Steady Hand from 5% to 10% extra hold time on bows
• Buffed Hunter's Discipline from 10% to 15% extra hold time on bows
• Various item descriptions updated.
• Damage effect has been changed to just the screen turning red instead or a chromatic aberration effect
• Stamina effect has been changed to not impair vision so much with an added ear ringing SFX
• Various written dialogue adjustments.
• No longer able to click on a perk if it is already activated
• Perks are now more visible displaying when they are active
• Quadbikes now display if they have missing wheels correctly, before they would still show wheels even if they were missing.
• Static tires around the world have been swapped out for lootable versions.

• Fixed water section of Gustava's lair not working like water, causing Gustava not to chase the player
• Fixed outfit MODs not all showing in the character screen.
• Fixed various gameplay elements not activating in the vicinity of the player after they use the fast travel system.
• Tentative fix for boss HP bar on HUD sometimes refilling (just a visual bug)
• Fixed holstering the building hammer not disabling build mode
• Fixed holstering fishing rod not disabling fishing mode
• Partial fix for characters floating a bit above the ground
• Fixed floating telephone in house near Sen's house
• Fixed character becoming mis-aligned with ladders after jumping while dismounting the ladder.
• Fixed character's rotation becoming mis-aligned with ladders if jumping on to the ladder.
• Fixed dialogue with audio skipping too quickly
• Tentative fix for crash after dying (although character's head will no longer appear wet)
• Fixed being unable to aim or shoot due to being stuck in free-look move
• Fixed changing the material type of player built walls not sourcing resources correctly from a nearby sawbench with planks.
• Fixed Easter rewards occasionally giving a fishing rod that doesn't work.
• Fixed endless boiling sound on campfires boiling water after saving and loading
• Tentative fix for items sometimes not being able to be picked up and instead coming up with dialogue stating that the character should talk with an NPC.
• Fixed research bench icon always being visible no matter how far away you are.
• Fixed RMB functionality such as aiming and zooming the camera not working after switching from the building hammer to another weapon via the inventory
• Fixed Easter rewards always give the outfit when over 1000 points.
• Fixed being able to aim in first-person while also holstering a weapon
• Fixed rare issue where a character's arms could disappear when changing perspectives, aiming and holstering a weapon at the same time.
• Fixed Easter fishing rod reward not working (again)
• Fixed possible issue where character's first person arms scale might be incorrect.
• Fixed character's rotation often snapping in the direction of the camera when aiming a bow.
• Fixed dialogue skipping too fast for NPCs with audio.
• Fixed not being able to place multiple buildings as was possible in the past (new building areas need need sufficient space between them)
• Fixed wording on respawn menu
• Fixed pulled through the wall in Dom's Hardware when pressing F in the vicinity of the ladder on the outside wall.
• Fixed being able to attack while interacting with a safe
• Fixed wording on shower radial menu.
• Fixed floating bushes on road between Backwater Beacon and Demolition Site
• Fixed distance marker icons not sometimes do not disappear for some quests after completing the object.
• Fixed issue with skill system where no weapon data was being retrieved when trying to add XP for using a weapon.
• Fixed an issue with skill system that would cause the skill to be wiped from the UI display
• Fixed having no way of determining what perk is selected.
• Fixed UI focus issue with skill UI not being able to close inventory after clicking a skill block or selecting a perk.
• Fixed 'Fill All' feature on rain collectors not filling any containers.
• Fixed performance spike when looting containers, due to the skill system checks.
• Fixed building UI widget not updating when items are crafted in the inventory (e.g. wooden planks would not appear as an available resource on the UI after crafting them)
• Fixed several UI focus issues on the main menu preventing keyboard inputs working as expected.
• Fixed Easter outfit only unlocking for Amy on a new save game.
• Fixed Easter event reward ears from Trystan and Adrian appearing as the wrong mesh.
• Fixed Kirk's face not fully animating during dialogue.
• Fixed XP not counting up in the notifications if a notification for XP was already displayed
• Fixed weapons are sometimes not holstering when using a ladder.
• Tentative fix for characters sometimes starting the game without arms.
• Fixed weapons sometimes not being able to be fired after saving and loading.
• Fixed Skill blocks being removed from the player UI.
• Fixed bows having a very low hold time. The hold time is now correctly increased when unlocking skills that affect hold time.
• Fixed explosive arrows being able to 'bounce' to nearby locations before detonating.
• Fixed situation where explosive arrow effects could spawn at the origin instead of the explosion location.
• Fixed weapons not firing their projectiles without swapping ammo type after saving and loading for older save games already affected by the issue.
• Fixed building part foundations not appearing.
• Tentative fix for game tips squishing up the text.
• Freelook mode now works as intended again, allowing the player to move in a direction while looking in another direction.
• Fixed camera position moving when leaving freelook mode
• Fixed infected not moving while playing their burning to death animations
• Fixed infected being able to climb while burning to death, interrupting their death status.
• Bruce and Thomas Textures being missing.
• Fixed rare issue where game could become soft-locked after starting to trade.
• Fixed issue with trader perks not working correctly.
• Fixed issue where audio bark and their corresponding facial animation could become mismatched.
• Fixed erroneous dialogue options appearing when skipping through dialogue.
• Fixed melee finishers not providing XP.
• Fixed issue where getting skills in improved draw speed for bows slowed down draw speed
• Fixed skills that affect bow hold times sometimes not having an effect.
• Fixed freelook input not working in packaged build of the game
• Fixed typo in Adventure item description
• Fixed NPC's facial animations continuing even after skipping their dialogue
• Fixed pressing left-bracket affecting the camera
• Fixed selected perks not displaying as active when closing and reopening the inventory or switching to a different tab.
• Fixed dirt pile at plane crash site not rendering correctly
• Fixed concrete floor materials not rendering correctly on some buildings around the Dam


• Initial time of day is now 7.30
• Removed placeholder backer bench plaques
• Material adjustments for some concrete floors
• Removed the Easter event score UI (Should of been done when event was disabled)

• Optimisations affecting NPC overhead text
• Significant optimisations improving non-optimal geometry in the world, especially around the dam

• Fixed The Rare Plants book not recycling.
• Tentative fix for Father McCreedy's Dialogue

Attention, soldiers! To help in the battle, the General decided to release the use of continues.

Teddy barked his approval, so let's go to battle!

• "Asteroid Belt" and "PRISM" locations now feature enhanced visual effects around the DJ Booth and Outer ring.
  
  
  
  
• "Shuttle" location now includes pairs of Virtual Beings with cross-context communication support, enabling AI characters to engage in deep contextual dialogues. Users can observe, eavesdrop on, or initiate conversations with any AI characters.

• The "Salvador Dali Experience" location has been visually enhanced, with improved effects and a more stylized floor design.
  
  
• The "Audio Board" mechanic in the "Shuttle" location has been upgraded with a new design.
  
  
• The "Shuttle" location's World Selection Menu has been temporarily replaced for easier use while awaiting the final design. Simply touch the green square to teleport to the chosen world.
  
• Lighting in the "Asteroid Belt" location has been improved using Lumen technology for fully dynamic indirect lighting.
  
• User movement speed and inertia in the VR environment have been adjusted for Valve Index, Oculus, and HTC Vive controllers.
  
• The control system has been updated to the new Enhanced Input system.
  
• Improvements have been made to the VR IK system, primarily focusing on character leg positioning and behavior.

• Resolved facial animation issues with user avatars.
  
• Fixed image blurring in VR.
  
• Addressed turn issues with the HTC Vive Trackpad.
  
• Solved user teleportation problems in VR when using HTC Vive equipment.
  
• Corrected non-returning teleport spheres in VR.
  
• Eliminated freezing when returning from the "PRISM" to the "Shuttle" location.
  
• Adjusted character positions in the Avatar Gallery within the ACS room.
  
• Balanced voice levels for virtual characters in the "Shuttle" location.
  
• Fixed overall volume levels in the "Shuttle" location.

Gameplay:
- Introducing a new feature called Wagering Mode in Upland integration with World of Football! Players located in North and South America, will have the chance to connect their Upland accounts, purchase Match Passes and compete against each other to earn rewards in UPX.
- Lowered the base boost speed from 20 to 10, making the total boost range from 10 to 30 depending on Speed Attribute level.
- Fixed Futsal floor collision.
- Fixed Old School goal collision.

UI:
- Improved contrast in modal widgets.
- Several Main Menu interface cleanups and small changes.
- Switched Match Settings menu and Team Settings menu order. Escape now opens the Team menu whereas the 'M' key (default) opens the Match Settings.

Time to level up, Stoneheads - 3x XP Weekend is here!



For any new players or seasoned adventurers looking to push their limits, this event is for you~

From now until April 30th, Stone Story RPG will be running a 3x XP weekend. All XP gained will be triple the normal amount!

Hello friends! Every Friday 17:30 UTC/GMT we hold a “Let’s play together” competition. During next 24 hours everyone is welcome to try and score the best time in a preselected level. Join our Discord server and keep Discord running while playing — your results will be automatically published in the #lets-play-together channel. You need to get 5 stars to qualify.

Glittering prizes include:
1) Top 3 winners receive one random card each. Collect 18 locomotive cards and advance to next set of 6 all new cards! Complete that second set and enter a final tier of 12 rare cards! Assemble all cards from all tiers and receive a special prize. Easy!
2) Every player registered by our Discord bot has a chance to get a card. The number of cards depends on the number of participants: one additional card for every 10 train connoisseurs on the list. More players means more prizes!
2.5) One non-Champion from the top 10 gets a Challenger Card - introduced along with 12 new loco cards from Myths And Rails and Editor's Bulletin!



Visit our Discord server (#lets-play-together channel) to learn more.

A level we are playing this week is
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2904124784

Now open your game - the link is right there in the main menu.

Good luck everyone!

Howdy Just Life fans! Check out our new video showcasing the chess mini-game and learn how to play in our latest YouTube video. Don't forget to add Just Life to your wishlist on Steam to stay updated on all the latest news and updates. And be sure to keep an eye out for our upcoming Kickstarter campaign!



Kickstarter campaign

Another update, more prep to get Warfair certified to release next week.
Here is the changelog!

• Lots of work prepping for localisation in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portugese!
  
• Increased performance in game!
  
• Improved performance of mini map!
  
• Improved performance of seeing your own legs
  
• Added Depth of Field effect to scopes
  
• Added new interactive smoke grenade!
  
• Added region selector for servers, defaults to EU still
  
• Removed zombies and big head mode for now as they are bugged
  
• Added some basic Steam Rich Presence
  
• Reduced muzzle flash during aim firing so you can see who you are shooting at!
  
• Added link to Discord server

• Fixed problem where grenade effects would not sync position correctly for other clients on the map
  
• Fixed continue button on end screen always returning to the lobby regardless of the map type
  
• Fixed CTF flags being in the wrong side of the map
  
• Update Steamworks version
  
• Fixed zombies not spawning
  
• Fixed kill zones on ProtoNuke
  
• Fixed a number of icons on menus not displaying correctly
  
• Fixed vehicle mode text displaying as an integer rather than a description in lobby
  
• Removed some dodgy iconography that didn't sit well with the values of modern societal beliefs
  
• Fixed minimap being off centre on Island map
  
• Removed some slightly rip-off avatars
  
• Fixed an issue where Steam Remote Storage would not sync save
  
• Fixed problem with bots where they just stared into space at the start of a map
  
• Fixed problem where menu buttons wouldn't activate if you left the lobby of a match
  
• Fixed problems with navigation mesh on some maps where bots would sink in the floor
  
• Lots of controller fixes, but currently controllers are not "supported" as we work through some further bugs to controller based menu navigation and a few other things

+ Turkish language
+ new levels
+ fixes and improvements.

Main Menu

• Version Indicator(bottom right) set to ver. 9.0.0

Character Select

• Charlie and Cass have 2 new sprays(li'l and LFnG)
  
• Fixed a bug where the Character splash animation would not play properly

Ingame

• Added VFX
  
• Added Screen shake when ball is hit